[AUAZD2001]

I have cruised twice, both times on Royal Caribbean. Once was an eastern Caribbean in 2001 with a large group of extended family (11 adults and 5 children) in the summer. My second cruise was in 2009 on a New England and Canada trip. We sailed out of Boston in October. The Caribbean cruise was much more of a party atmosphere and the average age of the passengers seemed much younger than the New England cruise. It was during the school year so there were hardly any children. Many Baby Boomers and older on this cruise. Also the activities on board seemed to be more geared for the less active. These were both 7 night cruises. The food quality seems to have slipped a bit but the service is still nice better than if you go stay at most resort hotels.

I also just had the opportunity to tour the Disney Dream while it was in port at Port Canaveral this week. I have a good friend who is a manager on board and she was kind enough to spend about 2 hours of her free time showing me around the ship. The ship is only about a year old and everything is sooooooo wonderfully themed. Attention is paid to even the smallest of details. And the entire crew is focused on anticipating and serving the guests' every possible need. You can tell they are always prepared to serve. About halfway though out tour I was ready to put down a deposit for a cruise with Disney!